Grow, babies, grow!

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kristina
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Grow, babies, grow!

Post by kristina »

Got most of the veggies planted over the weekend--yippee!

This year I've got:
2 kinds of cherry tomatoes
tomatillos
green beans
jalapenos
serranos
baseball shaped zuke
carrots
all the regular herbs--parlsey, basil, mint, two kinds of chives, rosemary, sage, thyme, and about three dozen dill plants that came up near where last year's plant went to seed.

All planted in either raised beds or containers; there is a particularly evil grass in our yards that spreads underground and smothers anything it comes in contact with...

What do ya'll have in your gardens?

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Gob
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Re: Grow, babies, grow!

Post by Gob »

It's heading into winter here, so not much at the moment.

We do have three pear trees and a peach tree which give lovely fruits in season. We also have roses.

We did start off with good intentions when we moved in here of raising veg, but never really committed to it.

We had four chooks, which were taken by foxes.
“If you trust in yourself, and believe in your dreams, and follow your star. . . you'll still get beaten by people who spent their time working hard and learning things and weren't so lazy.”

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The Hen
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Re: Grow, babies, grow!

Post by The Hen »

I could add that we have a lovely crop of weeds in the vege patch. (But that would embarrass me.)
Bah!

Image

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Sue U
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Re: Grow, babies, grow!

Post by Sue U »

So far we've got 18 tomato plants in, a mix of Brandywines, Early Girl, Sweet Millions, Black Krim and a couple of plum/paste. Looking for some Cherokee Purple starts to try, but I may be too late. Also got the peppers in -- serranos and cubanelles -- and a few eggplants. No point planting zucchini around here, as it's freely distributed all summer long by everyone else who's grown way too much. As to herbs we've got rosemary (bush is out of control!), oregano, basil, thyme, sage, chives, mint and parsley. Will get the cukes in this week and I think that's all we'll be doing this year (except for the pumpkin and watermelon that invariably will grow out of the compost pile). We're rearranging the yard and will move the veg garden for next year so we'll have more room for both an early crop (lettuce, spinach, chard, sorrel, beans & peas) and the later nightshades.
GAH!

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Guinevere
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Re: Grow, babies, grow!

Post by Guinevere »

As we've had frost warnings every morning since Saturday, nothing yet. I'm doing all containers this year, with the constraints of my new yard/location (sandy soil and beach cobble isn't the best for growing). I've got a strawberry jar ready to go, and some herbs started indoors (thyme, rosemary, sage, and tarragon). I have to add mint and chive to the list. I'll be picking up my basil and tomato plants next weekend at the local organic farm --- multiple yellow pear, two early girl, one brandywine (my favorite but the season is a tad too short here for them), and whatever else tickles my fancy.
“I ask no favor for my sex. All I ask of our brethren is that they take their feet off our necks.” ~ Ruth Bader Ginsburg, paraphrasing Sarah Moore Grimké

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Gob
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Re: Grow, babies, grow!

Post by Gob »

Guin and Due, I must say I'm envious.

Biut I have a long standing reputation of "Brown Thumbs", I can kill any plant just by thinking about it...

Gah, and me a vegetarian too...
“If you trust in yourself, and believe in your dreams, and follow your star. . . you'll still get beaten by people who spent their time working hard and learning things and weren't so lazy.”

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kristina
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Re: Grow, babies, grow!

Post by kristina »

I am not a vegetarian because I love animals; I am a vegetarian because I hate plants.
--A. Whitney Brown

@meric@nwom@n

Re: Grow, babies, grow!

Post by @meric@nwom@n »

I work too many hours to even think of a garden. Thank God for the farmer's market.

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Jammies
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Re: Grow, babies, grow!

Post by Jammies »

New this year:

2 Annabelle hydrangeas
1 burgundy-flowered chrysanthemum
4 blue columbines
4 white columbines
4 white-flowered lamium
2 cherry tomatoes
1 lemon balm
6 basil
1 peppermint
1 chocolate mint

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Gob
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Re: Grow, babies, grow!

Post by Gob »

I must prune our roses and fruit trees soon.
“If you trust in yourself, and believe in your dreams, and follow your star. . . you'll still get beaten by people who spent their time working hard and learning things and weren't so lazy.”

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kristina
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Re: Grow, babies, grow!

Post by kristina »

WooHoo! the potatoes popped their little leave out of the soil last week. I added a couple of inches of soil to the container, watered it in, and will continue to do so until the container is full.

On the bad side, there are some ancient plum trees between us and the neighbors, which our landlord is dragging her heels about dealing with. Every spring, they flower beautifully for a week or so, then get covered with scale, aphids and ants. There is fungus growing on the trunks. They are disgusting.

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loCAtek
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Re: Grow, babies, grow!

Post by loCAtek »

I'm more of a indoor gardener, as whatever I've tried to grow in the harsh mobile home park soil usually failed. I think smaller plants just don't have the root structure to get past the clay layer. I did finally encourage a willow to prosper by burying a bunny at it's roots. It survived long enough to dig into richer soil deeper down, and is doing real well now. So, I can plant trees, but not much else outside.
That includes the 'tree' bamboo out front by the lawn.
Come to think of it, I really should try planting bamboo in back along the fence... :idea:

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kristina
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Re: Grow, babies, grow!

Post by kristina »

If you're thinking of bamboo, I'd consider planting it in big containers rather than in the ground. Even the clumping kinds can spread, and once it's established, it's REALLy difficult to get rid of! I have some in half wine barrels, and it's doing quite well. Regular water, a little lawn food (it's a grass, after all!) and that's all it needs.

rubato
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Re: Grow, babies, grow!

Post by rubato »

I lost count, I think I have 9 kinds of sunflowers with 4 blooming at the moment. Planted 4 new kinds of sage (aka "salvia") this year and the crocusmia finally came up. Planted 2 kinds of moss and 2 kinds of thyme and some baby tears as groundcovers an additonal Kahili ginger to join the one from 4 years ago.

The herb boxes are doing well. Parsley, basil, chives, thyme, oregano, marjoram (punking out), lemongrass and a dill that's failing. Borage is blooming.

Grew one of these in a pot last year and it looks like it might come back:

Image

Peruvian daffodil.

yrs,
rubato

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loCAtek
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Re: Grow, babies, grow!

Post by loCAtek »

You could say I do have some successful outdoor plants, in pots on the porch. To go with the bamboo, I have a couple of different kinds of palms; Sago, Bird of Paradise and an Areca Palm. The Bird of Paradise has yet to flower, but I'm in no rush. It's growing new leaves, so it's healthy, sometimes these things just take time. The Cymbidium Gold orchid plant took two years to start blooming.
The Areca had a set back over the winter, rubato said that was probably because it hadn't received enough light. Unfortunately, I didn't move it before it was too late (I thought). It seemed to have perished, but as I was preparing to remove it from it's pot and dispose of it, I noticed the 'bulb' was still moist. So, I trimmed off the dead fronds; left it ugly, but alive in a sunny spot and continued to water it. Sure nuff, it's sprouted new leaves and is coming back, happier than ever.


My indoor gardening isn't half bad. Strangely, I have no luck with ferns, but I try all kinds of plant varieties to see which types do well inside. I've had success with a Moonlight Philodendron, I can put that in any low light room and it just turns it's leaves to where the best source is. Since the roommate invasion, I've had to keep him in the bathroom, which he just loves; his growth has just sky-rocketed and I may have to replant him soon.
When I replanted the Monstera deliciosa it also took on new life and growth. It's a whole new houseplant! It seemed more wandering stocks than leaves, but when it started sending out roots, I could see it need a bigger pot. After doing so, it had a whole new attitude; dropped some unsightly damaged leaves and sprouted some large new ones; looking much better.

My biggest success is my simple spider-plant. The roomies left him out on the cold porch too long and he began failing. Taking back indoors to the bathroom, he could have recovered well enough, if the cats hadn't tried to eat him! I'm serious! From now on, none of the cats are allowed in my room :arg ...but survived even that and is intrepidly trying to make up lost growth time.

Spider-plant, spider-plant, does whatever a spider can't! Image
Last edited by loCAtek on Mon Jul 05, 2010 11:58 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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kristina
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Re: Grow, babies, grow!

Post by kristina »

that daffy-down-dilly is spectacular!

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loCAtek
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Re: Grow, babies, grow!

Post by loCAtek »

I've decided what Bamboo, I'd like to plant in the back yard:

Mexican Bamboo. of course! 8-)

Image


I think it would compliment the willow tree with its 'weeping' quality, and I like the height as a natural screen, between the neighbors and I.
Plus, I've discovered what my front yard bamboo is called: Giant Timber Bamboo or Bambusa Oldhami.
Apparently, it seems, the best way to control bamboo is to breed giant pandas, but barring that, this past year, I've become adept at wielding a chainsaw. No, not a mutant extension of my arm, just a normal electric one, that is also good for cutting back the pompous grass. This was after I tried the traditional machete, but that was just too slow, and I lacked the entourage of bushmen to pull that off.

So, that would make three highly invasive species in my humble and hazardous trailerhood garden. Yup three, since there's the Kudzu vine that regularly tries to climb the back fence and eat my lemon tree. I saw 'the' cause there's really only one monster vine in the world, and all other smaller vine's are just extensions of the Mother Weed;

Image


So, you see I'm used to fighting back foliage, and I feel up tot he challenge of housing Hispanic herbage. If there were a way to transplant triffids, I'd go for that too! Then I could tryout the flame-thrower; nothing like full-contact, sport-gardening to welcome the Spring.


Image
Last edited by loCAtek on Sun Apr 24, 2011 11:26 pm, edited 1 time in total.

oldr_n_wsr
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Re: Grow, babies, grow!

Post by oldr_n_wsr »

Does that type of bamboo send out "shoots" under the ground? If so, and you lived next door to me" your garden would become a dead zone. :nana

Many villages/towns around here are banning many types of bamboo as they invade other peoples yards and there is no way to stop it other than killing the ground.

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loCAtek
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Re: Grow, babies, grow!

Post by loCAtek »

Well, I've seen it in other lots in the park; Bamboo Bay Area recommends it for its drought resistant qualities. Believe me, I'm considerate of my neighbors, because I did seriously take a chainsaw to my pompous grass (I don't make this sh!t up) when it started pushing down the fence between us.
I'm thinking the harsh soil will keep it from over-thriving, and it will behave like an average, ornamental, backyard plant.

...now, having made my choice, I just have to be able to afford the first gallon containers of shoots.

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loCAtek
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Re: Grow, babies, grow!

Post by loCAtek »

Good news, in researching the nurseries where I might find the bamboo/love of my life, I've uncovered this info;
OTATEA acuminata aztecorum - Mexican Weeping



Features: Abundant long narrow leaves obscure culms.

Height: This Otatea reaches 20 feet tall, culm diameter of 1 inch.

Exposure: For Mexican Weeping allow Morning or Afternoon Sun to Full Sun.

Minimum Temperature: As low as 22°F: USDA Zone 9a to USDA Zone 10

Type: Otatea acuminata is a Clumping or Non-Invasive bamboo plant.
Yay! I'm off to invest in three or four pots! Image






I'll have to save the flame-thrower for the Invasion of the Pod People

Image
Last edited by loCAtek on Wed Apr 27, 2011 2:47 am, edited 1 time in total.

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